Barclays appoints new CTO

Barclays has appointed Shaygan Kheradpir as chief operations and technology officer, with responsibility for driving the development of new products and services for the banking group.

Matthew Finnegan is the former editor of Computerworld UK. He joined IDG in January 2013, having spent two years writing for various online tech publications. He still covers enterprise technology over at Computerworld in the USA.

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Barclays has appointed Shaygan Kheradpir as chief operations and technology officer, with responsibility for driving the development of new products and services for the banking group.

Kheradpir will be handed responsibility for the operational processes and systems underpinning the delivery of new technology platforms to Barclay’s customers, and will be in charge of moving to greater automation of services.

Kheradpir moved from his joint role of CIO and CTO at Verizon Communications to join Barclays in 2011, taking up his position as COO for the bank’s retail and business banking division.

Prior to his appointment as COO and CTO across the Barclays Group’s entire operations, Kheradpir took a key role in the development of customer products, such as leading the introduction of the bank's mobile payments platform, Pingit.

“I am delighted to have this opportunity to lead our Operations and Technology organisation in delivering world class and innovative processes and systems focused on creating a ‘Go-To’ customer and client experience,” said Kheradpir. “This strategic work will be fundamental to Barclays achieving our Transform programme commitments.”

Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, said that Kheradpir will drive IT changes to improve the bank’s operations.

“Improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, facilitated in part by technological innovation and automation, were identified as a key priority in the Strategic Review we unveiled last month,” he said.

“The interconnectivity between this agenda, and the opportunities for Barclays and our customers and clients opened up through technological developments, are clear. The creation of this role is designed to ensure we have the appropriate focus on both areas.

He continued: “Since joining Barclays in 2011, Shaygan has been instrumental in helping devise and drive technology solutions and operational improvements at Barclays, including leading the introduction of award-winning initiatives such as Barclays Pingit, and I look forward to supporting him in this new challenge.”

Kheradpir will replace Jerry del Missier the former COO, who also acted as CTO, who left the company in the wake of the LIBOR scandal, after one week in the top job.

Barclays told ComputerworldUK that Kheradpir’s role would be focused predominantly on driving the implementation of new technologies, having appointed new heads of regulation and HR to fulfill del Missier’s previous duties, following his departure.

Last month Barclays announced that it would offer free WiFi in its branches nationwide, helping to encourage download of its mobile banking services such as Pingit. The bank aims to complete the WiFi roll out during March.